Category Archives: Blather

Saturday geek scraps

One function for a newspaper in the Internet age might be to edit the comments rather than the commenters. Having opinions is quite quick and easy, as is, for some people, writing them down. But ensuring that your comments section … Continue reading Continue reading

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Which is ruder?

Some people send me emails that start “Dear Andrew” and have elegant signoffs, but no subjects. These madden me. I reply with emails that have subject lines, but no salutation or signoff — after all, their email program shows who … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Blather, Net stories | 1 Comment

An omen on the lawn

It would be difficult to imagine a scene less adapted to brutal drama than the garden outside our kitchen window yet death does play there in front of our eyes. On Monday I was startled by a thump and a … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Blather | 2 Comments

Timewasting notes

A new hazard of technology: Roz Kaveney complains that every time she asks in a department store for a black beret, she is sent to the electronics department. A nice touch from Gideon Rachman’s FT blog: As we were assembling, … Continue reading

Posted in Blather, God, Net stories, Science without worms, Trouty things | 3 Comments

Kuka Mitä Häh?

The Leningrad Cowboys perform Sweet Home Alabama, backed by the Red Army Choir. The Leningrad Cowboys are the stars of the greatest film about America and Rock and Roll ever made; there is a clip from that on Youtube, too. Continue reading

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Polyglot proficiency

I belong to a sort of informal walking club which involves a bunch of middle-aged farts shambling around the Essex countryside for a couple of hours on a Sunday before stopping at a pub for lunch. It’s not exactly exercise, … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Blather | 2 Comments

Nowadays you’d get sued as well as kicked

I happened to be talking to an anthropologist this morning, and the conversation turned to a celebrated academic. “I knew him when I was at New College”, she said. “I was in a lift with him once. There were just … Continue reading Continue reading

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A better cold cure

The one thing about all cold cures is that they don’t work. Apart from stuff which generally stimulates your immune system, there is nothing to do but wait it out as comfortably as possible. With this in mind, I spent … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Blather | 1 Comment

Silly Scanner fun

The wonderful Librarything is selling off cuecat scanners, to read the ISBN numbers off barcodes, very cheaply, and mine arrived this morning. It took about ten minutes to learn that the secret is to swipe quite fast, and after that, … Continue reading Continue reading

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Sushi Pizza

On this blog we refrain from Norwegian jokes but I would not like to take seriously this recipe from Dagbladet. Yes, it is a sushi pizza, with the fish (Norwegian salmon and Norwegian halibut are specified) arranged on round platters … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Blather, Sweden, Travel notes | 5 Comments